Detroit Pistons Summer League star proves he can have even bigger role than $48m signing Duncan Robinson next season

The Detroit Pistons ended their six-year playoff drought, establishing Cade Cunningham as an All-Star leader of an exciting young team. However, the offseason saw them lose guard depth with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroder departing, and Malik Beasley potentially leaving due to off-court issues. To address this, the Pistons made a significant free-agent move by signing sharpshooter Duncan Robinson to a $48 million contract.

Despite the Robinson signing, the Pistons' NBA Summer League team features Ron Holland II, the #5 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, who is showing star potential in the exact sharpshooter role. In his first three Summer League games, Holland scored 65 points and demonstrated significant improvement, hitting 7 of 15 three-point attempts while also excelling defensively with an average of 4.0 steals per game.

Holland's Summer League performance suggests he could be a strong candidate to start at shooting guard alongside Cunningham. Crucially, unlike Robinson, Holland brings significant defensive strength, potentially forming a formidable defensive backcourt with Cunningham.

While Summer League performance isn't a definitive indicator for the regular season, Holland's showing marks a stark improvement over his rookie year, where he shot only 23.8% from three-point range and averaged just over one steal every two games. His current sensational numbers suggest he might be poised for a significant leap forward.

If Holland continues this trajectory, he could potentially challenge Robinson for the starting spot. Should Holland earn the starting role, the Pistons would benefit from bringing Robinson off the bench to provide valuable three-point shooting.